What are the barriers for integration in Sweden? : A study of the perceptions of male refugees from Afghanistan

Sammanfattning: In 2015, the number of unaccompanied children that fled to Sweden and applied for asylum was 35 369, more than ever before. The great majority of them, 22 806, were young male refugees from Afghanistan, often with very small chances of returning back to their countries mainly due to war, oppression and poverty. For any society to become sustainable, integration of new citizens is essential. However, right-wing populist parties and nationalism is growing in Europe, including Sweden. The fundamental socioeconomic and cultural flourishing needed for individuals to get integrated is lacking and thus causing a segregated Sweden. The question is why. Hence, the purpose of this master thesis was to examine what barriers that exist for economic-, social- and cultural integration in Sweden based on the perceptions of young male refugees from Afghanistan. This was studied through ten qualitative semi-structured interviews with young male Afghan refugees between 19 and 25 years’ old in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, in April 2019. The results were analysed through a conceptual framework of economic-, social- and cultural integration. The results revealed that language was perceived to be the main barrier for both economic-, social- and cultural integration, which in turn impacted the other perceived barriers of attaining an employment, lack of governmental support, difficulties in interacting with Swedes and crash of cultures. Experienced discrimination was mentioned throughout all societal spheres. To overcome these barriers, interactions with Swedes was believed to be essential. Factors that showed to enable this were improved language skills, active societal participation and living with host families.